An Actually Happy Birthday
by Captin of Sirius
Summary: Kaneki Ken, formally known as Sasaki Haise, has been through a lot over the last few years. From his terrible childhood that to his crappy adulthood, he could count his number of happy birthdays on one hand. This year, his family is determined to give him a good one. Post-:re, has :re characters, but no spoilers. This can be read without reading :re. Happy birthday Kaneki!


Hello Tokyo Ghoul fandom! A couple things before reading this fic:

1) It's set in a mild AU that takes place a few months after the Tsukiyama incident. I imagined that Hide came back and that everyone is perfectly fine. However, I keep Kaneki with his mental instability that is currently happening in :re. There aren't any spoilers here though. You will understand if you've read the manga, and if you don't, just go with it.

2) This takes place on Kaneki's birthday, December 20th. I decided he needed another happy time in his life after all the shit that's happening in :re

3) This was written for my sanity.

4) Just Hide and the Qs are present, aside from Kaneki.

5) Enjoy :)

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Kaneki had never really been able to have a good night's rest. This became especially true after he had joined Aogiri Tree. Even when he lost his memories and became Haise Sasaki, if one of the kids was up, he was up as well. Now that they were safe, he had hoped that this habit would break. It had yet to, as was evident this morning when Saiko opened up her bedroom door.

He willed his body to check on the rest of their house. Hide was snoring behind him, he arm tight around his waist. He could faintly hear Urie awake in his room, and when Saiko opened the door to Shirazu's room, he could guess that he would be up soon too. Biting back a sigh, Kaneki rolled over and buried himself in Hide's arms, hoping that the kids kept to themselves for a few hours.

As he allowed his mind to wander, he listened as Shirazu and Saiko gathered Mutsuki and Urie. The four went downstairs, and to the kitchen. Curiosity was trying to get the better of him, and Kaneki curled even closer to Hide, who simply let out a content sigh and curled back.

All was peaceful, and the kids didn't leave the house. At least it was until a large crash came from the kitchen. Kaneki and Hide both jumped, and as Hide sat up, Kaneki froze, trying to search for the kids' vital signs. He relaxed a bit when he noticed that they were surprised, but normal.

"Go back to sleep, Ken. I'll check on the sound." Hide said, gently running a hand through his dark hair. Kaneki forced a pout for Hide's benefit, and tugged him down for a good morning kiss.

"Now you can go." He said, and a genuine smile crossed his face when his boyfriend blushed cutely. Hide gave him a sheepish smile before climbing from the bed. He made a show of tucking him back in and kissing his forehead before leaving the room.

Kaneki listened as Hide noisily entered the kitchen and joined the kids in their squabbling. All too soon they quieted down, and Kaneki assumed that Hide was helping them with their cooking. He was about to relax and maybe doze off for a few minutes when his eyes snapped open as the faint smell of burning reached his nose.

He had completely forgotten that Hide can't cook either.

He groaned, grabbed Hide's pillowed and cuddling closer. He prayed that they managed to fix their problems together because he didn't want to have to get out of bed yet.

His prayers were denied when a larger crash came from downstairs. With an annoyed sigh, Kaneki ripped off the blankets and slipped on his house slippers. For the sake of his kitchen, he rose from his bed and headed downstairs.

He entered the kitchen to find the place a wreck. Some type of batter was splattered everywhere. There was a large mess of something red and something brown by the stove on the counter, and a carton of eggs lay wasted by the refrigerator, joined by a broken pitcher of orange juice. Hide and the kids froze when he entered the kitchen, and all stared at him with wide, horrified eyes.

Kaneki took a deep breath, trying to push back the violent anger that had developed in him after his fight with Eto.

"What is going on, guys?" He asked, trying to make himself sound cheerful and curious. It must have worked because everyone relaxed. He watched on, feeling genuinely amused as they all came together to discuss what to tell him. Finally, Saiko was pushed forward and she walked over to him, pouting up at him.

"We're trying to make Maman breakfast, cause it's his birthday today. But we messed up." She explained, and made herself look so disappointed that Kaneki instantly caved and pulled her in to his arms, the paternal instincts he had developed as Haise coming out.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you guys. Thanks for trying, but I can take over from here. You guys can treat me to a clean kitchen afterwards, okay?" He asked, running a soothing hand through Saiko's hair. Shirazu, Mutsuki, and Hide nodded, relieved grins on their faces. Urie nodded as well, even if he still looked put out. Deciding to take care of that quickly, he shooed the others out of the kitchen to go and clean themselves up and get ready for the day.

"Wait, Urie. I could use your help." He called when the black-haired male tried to leave too. He stiffened as he usually did when they were alone, and reluctantly he did as he was told.

"kay." The quiet male said as he joined Kaneki at the stove. Kaneki put him on batter/plating duty as he manned the pans that would make the eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

"I forgot that today was my birthday." Kaneki commented. Urie shot him a confused look, but didn't say anything. "I mean, the last time I celebrated it on this day was before I became a half-ghoul. Hide and I played video games and ate junk food all day. Then once I became a half-ghoul, everything happened so fast we forgot about it. And then after I lost my memory, we celebrated Haise's birthday instead. It means a lot to me that you guys are trying for me. I know I've been pretty awful to be around for a while now." He admitted, a bitter smile crossing his face. Urie was quiet for a few moments before he reached out and laid a hand on Kaneki's shoulder.

"…you try for us. Always. Even when we're awful. It's only right that we try back." Urie murmured. Kaneki's expression softened, and his affection for this little one swelled in his chest.

"Thank you, Urie. I'm glad that you guys still are with me after everything that happened." He said, and he shut his eyes, trying to block out the images of the horror that was six months ago. Urie tightened his grip on him, and he moved closer, trying to awkwardly offer himself as comfort in the only way he knew how.

"…we need Kaneki. I need Kaneki." He muttered. Kaneki wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. It was true. Their household was a merry band of misfits. Every single one of them had some type of fucked up thing happen to them. They had nearly lost each other, and Kaneki was so glad that they hadn't. These guys were basically his kids. They may not have come from him, but they were his. And he was their 'Maman' as all of them had called him at one point. And now Hide was here too, supporting them through their trauma's and holding them together.

His life had turned out so differently than he ever could have imagined.

Eventually, they had piles on plates of steaming food.

"Come eat!" Kaneki called as he and Urie placed the food on the table. The sound of running footsteps came from the stairs, and he rolled his eyes. "And don't run!" He added. To his amusement, all of them stopped and slowly walked down the stairs, pretending that they hadn't been running to begin with. They all entered the kitchen one by one, hair brushed and dressed for the day. As they took their spots, Hide entered last, dropping an enthusiastic kiss to Kaneki's lips

"Thanks, babe and Urie!" He declared before sitting down. Kaneki felt himself flush, feeling a little stupid for it as he did every time, (because after all of the shit he had been through, a little kiss on the lips shouldn't be anything to get embarrassed about), and he sat down with all of them.

"Thanks, Maman and Urie!" Saiko, Shirazu, and Mutsuki called out together before digging in to their meals. As Kaneki watched them eat, he did so with a tender smile on his face. How he loved all of them so.

Eventually, everyone finished and began to clean. Kaneki rose from the table, ruffling Urie's hair as he walked by.

"You don't have to clean, kiddo. Just go and get ready for the day." He said. Urie nodded, slowly continuing his meal. He was always such a slow eater, Kaneki mused fondly.

Later today, he was sure that they would end up at :re for a surprise birthday party. Between Shirazu, Hide, and Hinami, it was almost guaranteed. It would be a nice visit, he was sure, and he was interested to see what they had planned for the rest of the day. He thought about it in the shower, and got so lost in thought that he barely noticed Hide approaching.

"You okay in there?" Hide called through the door. Kaneki nodded, shutting off the shower.

"I'm fine. How should I dress for the day?" He asked, opening the bathroom door. Hide's eyes widened as he noticed that he was dripping wet, and Kaneki smirked, proud that he got the effect he had wanted.

"W-warm." Hide stuttered, cheeks flushed. Kaneki nodded, grabbed a towel from the wrack before turning off the light and moving towards their closet. When Hide inevitably grabbed his ass, Kaneki bit back a grin.

"Tonight, Hide. For now, behave. The kids are expecting us." He chided, playfully swatting away his hand.

"But you look so sexy!" Hide protested, and his hand went to put at Kaneki's defined abs. Rolling his eyes, Kaneki moved his towel down to dry himself.

"Behave or I'm kicking you out so I can get dressed in peace." He warned, a stern look coming to his dark eyes. With a small pout, Hide reluctantly took a step back.

"Okay." He murmured. Kaneki quickly dried himself off and got dressed, shivering a little as the winter chill settled in their room. He turned to Hide, who was sitting on their bed, playing a game on his phone. He offered him his hand, a small smile on his face.

"So what are we doing today?" He asked. Hide accepted his hand, allowed Kaneki to pull him to his feet. He beamed, all but dragging Kaneki out of the room.

"So many things! Come on, let's go and celebrate your birthday enough to make up for the last few years!" He chirped. Kaneki's smile widened, and for the first time in a long time, he was genuinely looking forward to celebrating his birthday. As they bundled up and headed out in the cold December air, Kaneki was grateful that these people were still with him this year. They had all taught him how to be happy, and now they were all relearning it together.

This was the family he was always meant to have.

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 **A/N:** I hope you guys liked this! It's unbetad, and I apologize for that. This fic made me feel better, and I hope it helps those of you that are currently reading :re as well.

\- Kida-Asumi.


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